When we think accessibility in the classroom, our minds go a million different directions. Are we thinking about accessibility of texts/reading, accessibility of information through the internet, or even accessibility to classroom materials like pens, pencils, and notebooks? Although all are important, supporting students with documented needs is always one of my priorities.
A support that students in my school district have access to is the Immersive Reader tool in Microsoft Teams. The cool thing about this tool is that the tool is not limited to the accounts of certain students. All students have access to the Immersive Reader and can use it for different purposes.
The Immersive Reader can read the text to students, translate the text, adjust sizing and spacing, and even change the background of the text! If you would like more information about the Immersive Reader tool in Microsoft Teams or how to use it, check out my Loom video below.
Video Source: Author's Loom Video
I am so proud to see the accessibility strides Microsoft Teams has taken in the last few years. When I think about where Microsoft Teams was at the start of the pandemic, I am actually shell-shocked. Our students with documented needs either had limited supports or had no clue how to use them! It was a real challenge. Students were basically on their own.
Without the proper supports, how can we expect students to persevere and try their best when they are struggling to read the words on the screen? Any type of formative or summative assessment we give will be meaningless if the student cannot even ACCESS the information in front of them. We must ensure that students have the proper assistive technology and accessibility tools to give them a chance at a fair and equitable education.
I always try my best to support students in any way that I can. I am always checking in on students to ensure that they have the same understanding of content and opportunities to practice as their other classmates. That is why the first few weeks of school are so important to me. As I gather their baseline data, I learn more about the students as people and as learners. I begin to realize that not all students benefit from the same supports even if they have similar needs. That is something that I take pride in.
But where can we do better? Where can we improve? One of the first things educators need to do when preparing students for success is reflect on their own teachings and practices. Upon reflection, I find myself realizing that I need to be more intentional with my supports and diversify the supports I am giving. Students are tired of the text being read to them. They are tired of learning the same way and they are tired of being supported the same way as well. Students want to be a part of the class and have minimal physical supports that are obvious to others. I need to try and embed supports into lessons.
For example, instead of providing students a set of skeleton notes where they fill in the blanks, I need to continue supporting them, but in a more discreet and assimilative way. To change this, I can embed that in my slides. I can bold or underline key concepts for students to understand that those words should be in their notes. This way, they are not singled out! They still have the support they need (the cue and isolation of text) but are still taking the notes the same way as their peers. Their needs and supports are invisible to the students around them.
In totality, we need to make deep considerations when selecting the type of accessibility tools, we expect our students to use. Before running off to give students the latest and greatest innovate technology, we must think to ourselves- is this going to harm the student's self-esteem more than it will impact their academic ability?
Thanks for the quick peek into Immersive Reader. Allowing students to call on these features as they need them is truly powerful.
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ReplyDeleteThank you for your post, Daniella! I like your image of Equity vs. Equality - it supports individualizing for each student. Accessibility is certainly part of individualizing lesson plans and goals. What students need and why are important considerations for teachers. Moreover, I agree that differentiated forms of learning really do increase engagement. I also agree that as teachers, we need to understand what technology can do for learners first.
ReplyDeleteDaniella, I appreciate the video that you shared for Immersive Reader! It definitely seems like such a useful tool! My school is Google everything, therefore, I never really know any features outside of Google that would also be beneficial for my students. I have seen the image that you shared before, and I completely agree with it. My teaching philosophy has always worked towards reflecting that image. One of the biggest challenges, however, has always been for students to understand why certain students are doing something different than them. To them, being a fair teacher is giving everyone the same work and the same amount. Explaining and helping them understand the differences that they all have and that I always try to honor always comes with setbacks and not buy in. It is normal, though, for the younger minds not to understand these concepts. I have to get creative each year to help students understand and respect everyone's differences in the way they learn and their skills. Great post!
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